Last night, many Dodger fans saw a pitcher who they felt was ineffective and not in control of the game. Of course, they were right. Rich Hill walked more than Lebron James in the NBA Finals. They felt he should be moved out of the rotation, to the minors, hung in effigy, DFA’ed or moved to the bullpen. Last night, I saw Rich Hill have excellent movement, but he did not have a good feel for it. That’s what happens with curve-ballers. That’s why Rich Hill is horrible in Spring Training. This, right here, right now, is not much different than Spring Training for Rich Hill who is just trying to get a feel for all his curve balls. His blisters are evidently behind him and now he is just trying to regain his “feel.” It takes time…
Feel free to lose your minds over last night’s outing by Rich Hill, but I prefer the big picture and the big picture is that he is close to getting a grip and being dominant again. Maybe the next start or the one after that. With no blisters Rich Hill just needs to pitch. He’s close – the Dodgers will stick with him… and they should. As horrible as it seems he has been, his ERA sits at 4.76. Jake Arrieta and John Lackey of the Cubs have worse ERA’s.
As it sits right now, the rotation looks to be pretty set – the most set it has been all year.
- Kershaw
- Wood
- Hill
- Maeda
- McCarthy
… in no particular order. Urias will stay at AAA until he gets his control back – it might be a month and Ryu is the odd-man-out. It has been reported that he might go to the pen, but I can’t see that working long term. They almost have to let him pitch to showcase him for a trade. There are many teams who need starters. With Urias and Stewart nearing ready, Ryu has no place to pitch, but they can’t trade him if he can’t pitch. Are they hiding something?
Minor League Highlights
- Kyle Farmer was 2-4 with a HR but the game was at Albaquacky, so the HR does not count! Farmer has a nice bat but not much power.
- O’Koyea Dickson hit 2 HR!
- Verdugo was 2-5 and is hitting .321 while OPS’ing only .788. Alex has 45 hits, 7 for extra bases and the rest are singles. There is a disturbing lack of power in his game this year and in the times I have watched him play this year, he appears slower than last.
- BTW, Willie Calhoun has upped his upped a tick!
- Oaks pitched 6 strong innings and only allowed 2 ER, which is excellent for Albq!
- Rios was 3-5 with his 8th HR. He is hitting .361 and OPS’ing .986 in a “Pitcher’s League.”
- Scott Barlow went 6 allowing 2 ER (2.66 ERA).
Discussion (63)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Hawkeye – Hard to pick right now, but I don’t think Maeda was second or third in ROY last year by luck…
Watford my man- My lateness in responding, I’ll blame on old age!!!
My thoughts n prayers are with Manchester…
Happy for Ryu. I’m rooting for him. In a big game I would trust him more than Maeda.
OOPs! about Yasmani…
M.T. why the snitty remarks Yasmani Nureyev??? He’s pretty damn good and I think most agree…
Maeda followed by Ryu!??! Maybe were onto something here!??!
That must have been the easiest DP of all time with Grandal & AGon running.
Since maeda is out of the game I will say I was wrong he did not get torched. He hung in real well. On a side note I was fortunate to be at Chicago last year for the playoff game in which maeda started. Thanks to Kendrick misplacing a flyball he got off to a poor start and struggled. However, as I was walking to my seat he was finishing his warmup and I hollered his name. He turned and threw me the ball he had been warming with. The cub fans were saying how did you get and I said duh I was the only one with a dodger shirt on. I was also wrong about the offense tonight. I think Wacha was throwing well but the dodgers seemed loose and aggressive. Keep it up go dodgers. I hate the cards as much as the giants.
Who knew maeda was our offensive weapon!! I do see a more aggressive approach tonight for some reason.
Sorry to say I predicted he would be torched but doesn’t matter we can’t score anyway. The strikeouts begin.
I suppose Grandal should have blocked that too?
Wow – in his last start, Maeda went 8 solid innings. Then he had one of those phantom innings. Now, he can’t get anyone out. Great plan – again.
Hate to lose avilan for the rest of this series. He made carpenter look very bad in striking him out in the Tuesday game. I agree with mark on Cain. I would add that last year he hammered left handed pitching and has had post season success. Since he is having a down season he might come cheap.
Anybody want this guy? 218 .308 .431 .739
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His name is Machado
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Don’t panic.
DODGERS REINSTATE ADAM LIBERATORE
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LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers today reinstated left-handed pitcher Adam Liberatore from the 10-day disabled list and placed left-handed pitcher Luis Avilán on the 10-day disabled list with a left triceps soreness (retroactive to May 24).
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Liberatore, who missed 14 games due to a left groin strain, last pitched on May 8 against the Pirates and tossed a perfect inning of relief with one strikeout. In two relief appearances for Los Angeles this season, he has allowed one run in 1.1 innings (6.75) and has held batters to a .200 average (1-for-5). Liberatore started the season with Triple-A Oklahoma City, going 0-1 with a 0.93 ERA (1 ER/9.2 IP) and has limited the opposition to a .152 average, while striking out nine against one walk in eight games.
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Avilán last pitched on May 23 against the Cardinals, allowing one hit in an inning of relief with one strikeout. He has made 23 relief appearances this season, going 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA (5 ER/15.0 IP) and has stuck out 20 batters against eight walks.
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Romo survives again!
Lorenzo Cain currently has a .259 BA, so you want to make a determination based upon that? Look at his OB%, which is .353 and he has stolen 12 bases in 12 attempts.
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He was injured in 2016, but in 2015 and 2014 he hit over .300 each year and averaged over .350 OB%. So, there is that.
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BTW, he is a .286 career hitter.
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I have always been supportive of Joc, but I had him pegged as a #4 OF long ago. Count me unconvinced. I do hope he proves me wrong if they keep him. There’s always Mike Trout.
I have no idea why anyone is surprised as to how Hill pitched last night. He last pitched on May 16. Pitchers like Hill need to pitch to maximize their command. That many days off, and he is probably amped and throwing too hard to command and control his breaking ball. I am generally supportive of the front office strategies, but to me they are over-thinking this rotation. Pick five and stay with them until one is truly hurt. But now both Maeda and Ryu are in the rotation, and Kershaw is now scheduled to be pitching on an extra day’s rest. Will he be the same? Pitchers being rested for the playoffs won’t matter much if they do not get to the playoffs.
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With that said, I do fully expect the Dodgers to get to the playoffs, and have a solid rotation. Will that include what some consider a true #2? Who is that #2? Quintana? Archer? Which of Buehler/Urias/Alveraz are you willing to lose? Houston wants a big pitcher this year, and they will spend to get him. Houston is more willing to spend from their farm, but I do not get the impression that Dodgers want to. I am not in that camp, because I do think the pitching is there, and I am not willing to lose two of those pitchers, when I think the problem with the Dodgers is their offense. I do not think the offensive answer is in OKC or Tulsa. They need 1 maybe 2 difference makers. Who they are and what they will cost I have no idea. But the Dodgers have the surplus to make a significant move, if they want one. If they do not, they are going to have to get hot and lucky, which is entirely possible. Maybe the front office believes that the luck and heat are going to come from Joc and Puig.
Joc to 7 day DL (concussion) to make room for Kenta
Dodgers lineup:
Taylor CF
Seager SS
Grandal C
Gonzalez 1B
Bellinger LF
Utley 2B
Hernandez 3B
Puig RF
Maeda P
The Dodgers have a 27 – 20 record and have won the West Division each of the last four years with most of those wins due to a strong finish that followed a slow start.
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Some are questioning the ability of Hill, Urias, Ryu, and Maeda to win enough games and yet are willing to trade Pederson and Stewart along with one of Madea/Ryu for a 31 year outfielder that would be a free agent after this year and is hitting all of .259 with 2 HR and 10 RBI. Joc alone has 2 home runs and 11 RBI and just turned 25.
Throwing his bullpen sessions with a band-aid covering his finger isn’t going to help him be sharp anymore than throwing every 7 days. They need to find out if he can do it or not. If not, send him to the pen until the blister issue is figured out. He could assume the role Wood had initially.
Roberts needs to show some balls and pick his five guys. Someone’s feelings may get hurt if they get send to the pen or AAA. For now:
Kershaw
Wood
McCarthy
Hill
Maeda or Ryu(pick one and stick with it)
Maeda has options and I have to imagine that Ryu might as well, but it may be similar to how Puig was sent down last year since they were rookies the same year I believe.
The offense is frightening right now. Puig’s first AB last night was a microcosm of his season so far. Joc has done nothing. Agone swing still looks like it is all arms to me. One of those two have to bounce out of it. I would have no problem sending Joc, Ryu, and Stewart to KC, but if they’re going down that route then Herrera needs to be on the to do list as well. Add Herrera and say goodbye to Romo.
Did everyone see Brett Anderson’s tweet?
Brett Anderson”
As badly as I have pitched, this is the best team atmosphere, that I have ever been in, and it isn’t even, close.
Let’s see how the Cubs would feel about Anderson, if they paid him, 25 million dollars, for just one average, season.
The Cubs are paying him, just over three million dollars!
Hill stunk up Glendale. My take is that he is an average pitcher who had a couple of good seasons. And now, blisters. Nice guy, etc. But he is no better than a #5. To rely on him to get to the promised land is not a good formula. It’s time to get Stripling back into the rotation. The sooner the better. Day in and day out, Stripling will be as productive as Hill, without all the drama and disruption. Plus, the youth factor if a good thing.
I agree that you can’t expect that Hill will have his “A” game yet, given his recent return from the DL and his reliance on touch. This accentuates the problem though – you sign an injury-prone guy to a $16MM/year contract knowing that he will spend much of the season on the DL and you have to expect some poorly-pitched games when he returns due to his reliance on touch. He only made 2 rehab starts and one was horrible. So far this season, Hill has given the Dodgers 17 innings in 4 starts with 12 BB and 17 K, a 4.76 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. Sure, it’s early but not that early. The Dodgers have played 46 games (28% of the season). Can Hill get it together in time to be a plus? Absolutely. Can he be ineffective or injured for most of the rest of the season? Sure, that’s possible too.
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I maintain that the Dodgers will have pretty good but not great starting pitching – they won’t know who is in the rotation from week to week. Who will the 5 be by the time the playoffs start (assuming they make the post-season)? I don’t know and either do you. I would love to have a legit #2 starter but I don’t expect that the Dodgers will part with the kind of prospects to make that happen.
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The offense has been inconsistent for years now. You look at the lineup and they should score more than they do every year. There’s been lots written about the reasons for that (bad clutch hitting, problems with lefties, inability to play small ball, etc.) but the fact is that with this team, they will go through periods where they just don’t score runs. I don’t know that there is a silver bullet that will solve this problem. I know that some here are interested in Ryan Braun but the Brewers are currently in 1st and they may not be looking to dump salary this year. JD Martinez maybe?
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As to the long term plan, Ethier and Crawford come off of the books after 2017. Pederson, Grandal, Van Slyke, Kike Hernandez, Baez, Wood, Avilan, Hatcher and Fields are all arb eligible in 2018. I assume that the Dodgers will still be in luxury tax land in ’18. The big money can come off of the books after 2018. Adrian Gonzalez, Puig, McCarthy, Ryu, Arruebarrena, and Kendrick (dead money) all come off of the books and of course, Kershaw can exercise his option as well. If the Dodgers are going to sign any big money free agents (a big if in my view) then it will not likely be this off season but next.
Mark I was typing mine while you posted so I didn’t know you were advocating to get Cain but exactly my feeling. Un fortunately they will probably hold onto him until the deadline to drive the price up.
I believe the dodgers have the starting pitching. In the big picture if he can stay healthy hill will be the number 2. Wood is certainly pitching like a number 2 or even a 1 currently it remains to be seen whether he can do that over the full season. The wild card is Urias if he can get righted he may have the ceiling we need. Another possibility is kazmir if he ever revives. Otherwise McCarthy is solid right now but… maeda well we have already seen you can’t trust him in playoffs. I fully expect the cards to torch him tonight. Ryu obviously not able to bad because he had the stuff prior to injury. Offensively is where we better improve. Turner is the only legitimate hitter. Most of the rest can’t even put the bat on the ball against good pitching. Utley is a waste why not bring Calhoun up and give him a shot. He could take the abs utley is getting. He doesn’t strikeout much and he could supply some power. There is no one in this lineup other than turner that scares anyone. Seager would be the other possibility but he seems almost uninterested no fire. In the end seager will probably have solid numbers but his strikeouts are mounting. So a pitcher says be careful with turner and seager and the rest just don’t walk. An average pitcher needs to be careful with bellinger but he has an expected learning curve and justneeds experience so it will take a while for him. Cain and Herrera would certainly help this team.
Ron Cervanka says it a bit more eloquently:
http://www.thinkbluela.com/2017/05/dr-jekyll-and-mr-hill/
On Leake:
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He is 7-2 with a 1.91 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. Last year , he was 9-12 with a 4.69 ERA.
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Who is the real Mike Leake?
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Career wise, he has a 3.90 ERA and 1.26 WHIP. Sometimes, guys just put it all together later in their careers (Rich Hill, Justin Turner) and sometimes they get lucky for a while. He has been lights out, but the exit velocity on his hits are 3 MPH above the MLB average. We shall see…
I look forward to a healthy lineup:
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However, I do think a change has to come. We really need a Lorenzo Cain in CF this year. Joc and Ryu? Maybe Joc, Stewart and Ryu?
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It’s has to be done.
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1. Cain CF
2. Seager SS
3. Turner 3B
4. Bellinger LF
5. Forsythe 2B
6. A-Gon 1B
7. Grandal C
8. Puig RF
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I think that is the ticket. Either that of trade the Top 15 Prospects for Trout! 😉
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I still feel good about this team. We are 7 games above .500. The Cubs are 3! We have issues – they have as many… maybe more. It happens – Kyle Schwarber is hitting .186, Rizzo is at .238, Russell is hitting .214, Contreras is at .240 and Hayward still sucks. Most of them will get going… and so will ours!
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Even if you don’t like the methods, the pitching is still #1 in baseball. We are 10th in BA and 7th in Runs scored. Arizona and Colorado will fade. Write that down! The Dodgers are still looking good!
I see Hill’s talent and it is tantalizing. The guy is 37 but in late May it’s still like ST for him. He should have come in with his finger already calloused and worked out his command issues more than a month ago. Had the Dodgers known that Wood, McCarthy and Ryu were going to be healthy and Hill was going to fart around after getting a big payday I think they don’t sign him. But they did so now the rotation is being shuffled around. I understand Ryu to the bullpen and even endorse it-for now. I understand Urias to AAA and see the benefit-for now. I don’t get a grizzled vet struggling with location, getting upset with the umpire, and walking 7 including the pitcher in a home game when your team has been having trouble scoring runs, against a pitcher who now leads the league in ERA.
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Watching Lynn and Leake look like Koufax and Drysdale is a statement about the Dodgers offense, or lack of it. Yes, they pitched well and had a plan and the Cards have played well on the road lately yada yada. It is almost painful to watch guys just walk up and get themselves out but that is what they are doing. I know it’s early and a long season, I’m saying the Dodgers are not an exciting team to watch right now. How about bunting to beat the shift (like Carpenter), putting guys in motion, some hit and run plays? How about some 2 strike hits the other way and hits WRISP? It can’t always be a 3 run HR to win the game with one swing.
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Turner is hurt, Puig is hurting, Forsythe and AGon are getting their timing back, Bellinger is being challenged and the weight is on Seager and Grandal. I get it, but with the talent they have should be able to put up 3 or 4 runs a night and give their pitching a chance to win. Not quite ready to demand a shake things up trade but ready for some consistent offensive production.
Baez would be a great addition, but he does not address the Dodger hitting woes.
Puig continues to struggle with the bat (maddening to watch because of his talent), Joc is a no show at the plate (worse than maddening because he refuses to adjust), Utley takes up space on the roster but continues to play a lot, Turner is missed, guys who are hitting at OKC stay there, the Dodgers are still searching for a legitimate #2 starter, and like Utley, Romo & Hatcher just use up a roster spot. All is ok though, there is a plan, I just think the plan is 2018 and beyond.
They can win the division, but with these holes, the margin of error in the playoffs is very, very small.
Yeah Mark, I saw a pitcher who is unhittable when he throws strikes. The pitch moves so much even the umpires have a hard time getting it right. I can see why FAZ signed him, now he just needs to get it together.
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Following is an article on a topic previously debated here. Ian Happ/Javier Baez for a pitcher trade.
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http://www.espn.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/44315/is-it-time-for-the-cubs-to-put-javier-baez-on-the-trade-block
I am more concerned about a pathetic offense with no apparent fix.
What I see in Hill is a pitcher who will be a roller coaster ride for the next three seasons. And I hate roller coasters.